Pedally driven exercising and amusement apparatus



A. R. BARNES PEDALLY DRIVEN EXERCISING AND April 19, 1949.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Filed July 27, 1946 1 mr m v m0 g i 03% f 3 5 I F X 2 6% w a .w M 6 6/55 v/ a a. a. a L o 9 8 v .0 2

HTTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 19, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,468,011 i En YDBIVE'N EXERCISING AND AMUSEMENT APPARATUS imdmo R. Barnes, Van Nuys, Califl; Hazel 'Fisette admiiiistratrix *of said Alonzo R. Barnes, 'de- -ceased '2 claims.

My invention relates to *a pedally driven exercising and amusement apparatus and for its principal object, to provide "a simple, practical and inexpensive structdre embodying the basic principles of a carousel, or -merry-go-round having a plurality of passenger cars or carriages that are suspended so as to travel in "rdular paths around a tower or like support which carriages are shaped and constructed simulation of the bodies of modern airplanes, including propellers that are driven by pedals actuated by the occupants of the carriages, thus providing an attractive and amusing pastime for both children and adults, and at the sa e me seaming the users to receive the benefit of mild exercise, preetically the same as that produced while riding a bicycle. V y Y I A further "bj'ect "of my invention is to provide, in an amusement and exercising device of the character referred to,'propel-ler driven means constructed in that the propeller driving effort "of an the passengers of 'a carriage or carriages may be simultaneously transmitted to the propeller shafts or if any individual passenger desires for a brief period or longer, to cease pedal operation, he may do so without in any way affecting the 'driving efforts exerted by the other passenger or passengers.

A further object of my invention is, to suspend the propeller driven carriages from a tower, or the like, so that as the spee'd of the driven earriages increases, same will, under centrifugal forces, swing outward away from the tower and thereby giving the passengers the pleasurable thrills attending airplane flights.

Further objects of my invention are, to mount the passenger seats so that same may be readily adjusted so as to afford comfort to adults and children while operating the pedally actuated driving means and further, to equip the rear portions of the passenger carriages with fixed rudders and stabilizers so as to stabilize said carriages while same are in motion.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of my improved exercising and amusement apparatus with one of the carriages removed.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross "section taken on the line 3- 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail section showing the pedally operated means for actuating a tubular shaft.

Fig. 5 is a detail section showing the pedally operated means for actuating adriving shaft.

Fig. 6 is across section taken 'on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4.

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail cross sections of overrunning clutch or ratchet means which may be used between the pedally operated shafts and the propeller shaft.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, l0 designates a conventional tower provided on its upper portion with a bearing I I, for a vertically disposed shaft [2 that exten'ds down through the center of said tower and carried by the upper end of said shaft above bearing 1 l, is a skeleton frame having a plurality of radially disposed arms I3.

Suitably connected to the outer ends of arms l3 are the upper ends of cables HI, arranged in pairs with the lower ends of two pairs connected respectively to the forward and rear portions of a body i5 shaped in simulation of the fuselage of an airplane.

Formed in the top of each body 15 aretwo openings 16, one in front of the other, for the accommodation of the users of the apparatus.

Mounted on the lower portion of shaft 12 is a brake drum I1 surrounded by a brake band it which latter is actuated by conventional means including a hand lever [9, thus enabling a person or attendant to control the speed, or if desired, to stop the rotation of shaft 12 and operating parts associated therewith. V

Secured to the rear portion of body i5 are a fixed rudder 20 and stabilizers 2| which are effective in stabilizing said body while same are in motion.

Mounted for rotation in suitable hearings in the forward portion of body I5 is a horizontally disposed shaft 22 carrying a fly wheel 23 and mounted on the forward end of said shaft, outside body I5, is a propeller 25, similar to a conventional airplane propeller.

Secured to the forward end of body l5, and surrounding propeller 25 is a guard 26, and seated therein directly in front of said propeller is a screen 21, preferably wire netting.

Rigidly secured body l5 below openings I6 is a braced frame 28, preferably of metal tubing having horizontally disposed portions 29 below said openings, and mounted for horizontal adjustment on each of these portions is a seat 30 similar to a motorcycle seat and if desired said seat may be equipped with a suitable back rest.

Projecting upwardly from body is a transverse wind shield 3|, and just below same within the forward end of each opening it is a handle bar or loop 32.

Rigidly secured to the rear portion of frame 28 below and in front of the rear one of seats 30, is a housing 35, in the upper portion of which is journalled the intermediate portion of a crank shaft 34 carrying pedals 35 on its ends, and secured on this shaft within said housing is a worm 38 that meshes with a worm wheel 31, positioned in the lower portion of housing 33 and loosely mounted on a driving shaft 38.

Worm wheel 31 is provided in one side with a recess within which an overrunning clutch or ratchet 39 that transmits the motion of worm wheel 31 to drive shaft 38 when the pedal shaft is driven forwardly and when said pedal shaft is driven rearwardly, or stopped, motion will not be imparted to said worm wheel.

The forward end of driving shaft 38 carries a pinion 48 that meshes with a pinion 4! on a countershaft 42 and an internal ratchet and pawl arrangement 43 provides a driving connection between said pinion 40 and shaft 42.

Carried by frame 28, below and in front of the front one of the seats 30 is housing 44, in the upper portion of which is journalled a crank shaft 45, the ends of which carry pedals 48.

Mounted on crank shaft 45 within housing 44 is a worm 41, that meshes with a worm wheel 48 loosely mounted on shaft 38 and operating in a bearing 49 in said housing.

Surrounding shaft 38 in front of housing 44 is a tubular shaft 50 having an overrunning clutch or ratchet connection 5| with worm wheel 48.

Loosely mounted on the forward end of tubular shaft 50 is a pinion 52 with a ratchet and pawl connection 53 between said pinion and shaft, as seen in Fig. 8, and pinion 52 meshes with a pinion 54 on countershaft 42.

Mounted on countershaft 42 in front of pinions 4| and 54 is a gear wheel 55 that meshes with pinion 24 on propeller shaft 22.

The construction just described provides simple and efiicient means for transmitting motion of the pedally actuated shafts 34 and 45 to propeller shaft 22 and the overrunning clutches 39 and 51 with ratchet and pawl connections 43 and 53, en-

ables the persons occupying seats 38 to simul-.

taneously impart driving effort on the propeller shaft, or either person may cease pedaling for a rest period while the other person continues the pedaling function.

The ratio of gear wheel 55 and pinion 24 is such as to drive the shaft 22 at considerable speed and the propeller 25, mounted on said shaft in front of the body of the apparatus will, when speeded up draw said body forwardly in a circular path, thus affording the occupants of the carriage or carriages thrills, amusement and mild exercise.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a pedally driven exercising and amusement apparatus that i simple in structure, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the .varlous parts of my improved exercising and amusement apparatus may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a pedally driven exercising and amusement apparatus, a tower, a frame mounted for rotation on said tower, carriages suspended from said frame, a shaft journalled for rotation in the forward portion of said carriage, a propeller mounted on the, forward end of said shaft a countershaft journalled in the carriage below the propeller carrying shaft, a driving connection between said countershaft and propeller carrying shaft, a driving shaft, a tubular shaft surround in the forward portion of said driving shaft, in dependent driving connections between said driving shaft and tubular shaft and said countershaft, pedally operated crank shafts journalled in said carriage and driving connections including overrunning clutches between said crank shafts and said driving shaft and tubular shaft.

2. The exercising and amusement apparatus as set forth in claim 1, with longitudinally adjustable seats mounted in the carriage above said crank shafts.

ALONZO R. BARNES.

REFERENCES orrnn Anderson, Jan. 5, 1915 Holt Nov. 8, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Dec. 28, 1899 Number 1,068,852 1,123,653 1,887,410

Number 107,493 

